Chapter 579: I don’t want him anymore; don’t mention him again.
"..."
Lu Xiaoer’s eyes fluttered, and her nose felt fiercely sour.
"Before, Daddy just wasn’t patient enough to listen to you. Daddy always said he loved you very much but never spent enough time and effort to be with you... Sweetie, Daddy promises he won’t do that anymore."
"Daddy..."
"Mm-hmm."
"Can I choose not to marry in the future... Can I stay by your side forever... Daddy..."
Lu Yonghuai was stunned for a moment; he hadn’t expected Lu Xiaoer to say that.
"You don’t want to marry? Then...the one from the Zhongli Family..."
Lu Xiaoer shook her head,
"I don’t want him anymore, Daddy. I beg you, don’t bring him up again... Please..."
"..." Lu Yonghuai’s heart clenched, "Could last night’s incident also have something to do with him?"
Lu Xiaoer shook her head again,
"It has nothing to do with him, I was too trusting of Song Jing."
"Then... What did little Zhongli do to upset you? Daddy can stop mentioning him, but... Daddy is also curious, isn’t he?"
"I don’t want to talk about it now... Daddy, can we just let it go, okay? Never bring it up again, and don’t go looking for him. I don’t want to have anything to do with Zhongli Wuzhi anymore... I just don’t... wuwuwu..."
Lu Xiaoer cried so hard that she could barely catch her breath; she was pitiful to the extreme.
Lu Yonghuai was also heartbroken, hurriedly rubbing Lu Xiaoer’s back,
"We won’t mention Zhongli Wuzhi. Daddy promises, he won’t bring him up again. We don’t need him. A man who makes my daughter so upset isn’t worth your affection."
"Okay."
Lu Yonghuai wiped her face with a wet towel,
"Some people just get puffy eyes when they cry, but look at you, your whole face is swollen... Eh..."
"..."
Lu Xiaoer sniffled and tightly held Lu Yonghuai’s hand.
"Daddy promises you, if you don’t want to get married, Daddy will never force you to marry anyone."
"Okay!"
"Daddy has raised you, pampered you with good food and drink, watched you grow up so beautiful and charming, educated and idealistic, not to let you go and suffer in someone else’s house. And... Daddy would love for you to always stay at home and keep him company."
Lu Xiaoer sniffled again,
"Dad, don’t worry, I will definitely stay home and take care of you in your old age."
Lu Yonghuai smiled and nodded.
However, his heart was really not at ease.
It took Lu Xiaoer a very long time to slowly fall asleep.
After Lu Xiaoer fell asleep, Lu Yonghuai’s expression turned completely cold.
He narrowed his eyes; what exactly had Zhongli Wuzhi done...
What kind of lessons was that old guy Zhongli Yuting teaching his son!
Hardly anyone knew about the incident with Lu Xiaoer.
After Lu Yonghuai brought Lu Xiaoer back, she fell ill with a high fever of forty degrees, which frightened Lu Yonghuai so much that he dared not leave her side for even a step.
------------
A week passed by like this.
In the President Mansion, someone else was also heavy-hearted.
Princess Chinian hadn’t been going to school to study the national history recently, which was quite surprising to both Song Lili and Wen Nian.
Without the right moment, Song Lili and Wen Nian didn’t rashly ask.
But...
Chinian was walking a dog in the front yard, which had crawled in through a hole in the back of the President Mansion a couple of days ago.
A little yellow puppy, indistinct of its breed.
Song Lili quite liked dogs, so she took in this stray puppy, conducted a physical examination on the animal, administered the necessary vaccinations and medications, and after a thorough bath, the dog was officially a resident of the President Mansion.
Song Lili named the dog quite casually. Seeing its body was covered in yellow fur, except for its four white paws, which looked like they had stepped in snow, she called it "Tasue."
But "Tasue" just didn’t roll off the tongue.
Wen Nian then suggested, "How about calling it Snow Wolf?"
"Snow Wolf my foot."
Song Lili immediately shot down his suggestion.
"Wolves and dogs are closely related species anyway. What’s wrong with calling it Wolf? It sounds way cooler than ’Snow Dog.’"
Wen Nian was just teasing her for fun.
Song Lili wasn’t having any of it and waved her hand dismissively, "Aside from being President, you are absolutely good for nothing!"
"..."
Wen Nian blinked, speechless and blocked by Lili’s blunt statement.
On the other hand, the servants and gardeners nearby were laughing so hard they were bending over backwards.
"Sister speaks the truth with no fault,"
Wen Xun chimed in, siding with Song Lili.
"You deserve my affection."
Neither "Tasue," "Snow Dog," nor "Snow Wolf" seemed right, but it was Princess Chinian who proposed,
—How about calling it Snow Ball?
"..."
Though it was a yellow dog, the name Snow Ball had a certain charm to it.
Plus, this dog ate voraciously, its appetite was no small matter; these past days, it was always eating until its belly was perfectly round, feeling like a bouncy ball when picked up.
—Snow Ball... it’s been a week now... when do you think he’ll come to see me?
Princess Chinian squatted there, gently petting Snow Ball with sighs following one after another.
She murmured to herself inwardly.
Lying on its back with its belly to the sky, Snow Ball’s limbs and paws curled up motionless, eyes half-closed, it was enjoying Chinian’s caress in the utmost comfort.
—Next life, I really want to be a dog, just like you, loved and pampered without any worries or troubles.
"Aw woo, aw woo!"
Suddenly, Snow Ball started barking, the call of a barely four-months-old puppy was particularly amusing.
Although Snow Ball hadn’t lived at the President Mansion for many days, Chinian had always taken care of it, and Snow Ball was closer to her than to anyone else.
Chinian was starting to understand Snow Ball’s habits.
Most of the time, it would bark like this when strangers approached.
Could it be... Has someone come again?
Chinian wondered inwardly. She stood up and turned around, only to see Zhongli Wuzhi approaching her.
Chinian’s eyes widened in surprise, and joy was written all over her face; she felt a bit awkward... Her doll-like cheeks blushed, and with the spring sunshine, she looked especially endearing.
She was dressed in a white gown with a voluminous and flowing hem, wearing the royal court attire of their country.
"It’s been a while, Xiao Qi."
Chinian swallowed several times unconsciously.
After a long pause, she managed a smile and raised her hand to wave at Zhongli Wuzhi.
"Where did this little dog come from?"
Zhongli Wuzhi walked over and squatted down to play with the puppy.
Chinian typed out a message on her phone to tell Zhongli Wuzhi that the puppy had wandered into the President Mansion on its own.
"What’s its name?"
—Snow Ball.
"Snow Ball?"
—Yes, Brother Wen Nian suggested Snow Wolf. Sister Lili suggested Tasue, but none were easy to call, so we settled on Snow Ball.
"Hmm... Snow Ball, that sounds cute."
Zhongli Wuzhi reached out and stroked Snow Ball.
The little fellow was soft and became even happier when someone showed it affection, stretching out its tongue to lick his hand.
Chinian squatted beside Zhongli Wuzhi, watching him...